Hair-slide

ABSTRACT

This hair-slide, notably of the &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;horse-tail,&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; captive type, comprising two substantially arcuate elements hingedly interconnected and having their free ends provided with releasable locking means, the closed slide having a substantially elliptic configuration. The releasable locking means comprise a hooking member carried by one element and engageable in a slot formed in the other element; the latter has formed across this slot another slot parallel to the hinge pin interconnecting said elements, in which a lock-bolt in the form of a plate formed with an L-shaped notch is slidably fitted and engageable by said hooking member; a pin parallel to said slot constitutes one stop means for limiting the permissible longitudinal movement of said lock-bolt in one direction, the other stop means consisting of a bent outer portion of said lock-bolt, the latter being constantly urged to its locking position by spring means.

United States Patent Morand [54] HAIR-SLIDE [72] Inventor: Gilles Morand, Ol Ceyzeriat, France 221 Filed: Feb. 24, 1972 [2i] Appl. No.: 229,027

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 28, 1971 France ..7l24388 [52] US. Cl .....l32/46 R, 24/248 HC [51] Int. Cl. ..A45d 8/00 [58] Field of Search ..132/46 R, 48, 37, 46 A, 40; 128/325, 337, 346, 402, 354; 24/248 HC,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,686,520 8/1954 Jarvis et al ..128/346 3,277,895 l0/l966 Johnson ..128/325 3,323,208 6/1967 Hurley, Jr ..30/124 Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-Gregory E. McNeill Attorney-Eric l-l. Waters et al.

[ 1 Oct. 17, 1972 [57] ABSTRACT This hair-slide, notably of the horse-tail, captive type, comprising two substantially arcuate elements hingedly interconnected and having their free ends provided with releasable locking; means, the closed slide having a substantially elliptic configuration.

The releasable locking means comprise a hooking member carried by one element and engageablein a slot formed in the other element; the latter has formed across this slot another slot parallel to the hinge pin interconnecting said elements, in which a lock-bolt in,

the form of a plate formed with an L-shaped notch is slidably fitted and engageable by said hooking member; a pin parallel to said slot constitutes one stop means for limiting the permissible longitudinal movement of said lock-bolt in one direction, the other stop means consisting of a bent outer portion of said lockbolt, the latter being constantly urged to its locking position by spring means.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 1. Field ofthe Invention V This invention relates to hair-slides in general and has specific reference to hair-slidesof the captive, type intended for horse-taillarran'ged hair, i.e., comprising two substantially arcuate elementspivotally interconnected atone end,rwith registering concavities, and having their free ends provided with interengaging locking means whereby in the closed position the hairslide has a substantiallyelliptic configuration, each element carrying hair-retainingmembers on its inner concave face. r I

l 2. Description-of the Prior Art Hair-slides of this general type are already known wherein the means for interlocking the two free ends of saidelement are generally either fragile and have a short useful life, or in contrast thereto excessively strong and therefore difficult to operate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the essential object of the present invention to avoid these inconvenience. Tothis end, this invention provides an improved hair-slide of the type broadly set forth hereinabove, wherein the means for interlocking the free ends of the main elements comprise on the one hand a hooking member rigid with the'free end of one of said elements, said hooking member being formed with at least one retaining notch and adapted to be engaged, in the closed position of said hair-slide, a slot formed in the free end of the other element and adapted to constitute a keeper therefor, and on the other hand a lock-bolt slidably mounted for axial movement between a pair of stationary stop means in a cavity formed to this end in the free end of the other element in such a manner that the catch portion of said lock-bolt projects into said slot on the side of the notch or notches of said hooking member, or be retracted therefrom, spring means normally urging said lock-bolt in the first position aforesaid while other members permit its movement towards its other end position.

Thus, a captive or normally non-releasable hair-slide is obtained; besides, this hair-slide is reliable in the closed position and easy to operate.

To permit the automatic closing of the hair-slide, i.e., without having to actuate the lock-bolt, on the one hand when this bolt is in its closed position, i.e., with its catch portion projecting into said slot, a clearance corresponding to substantially one-half of the slot width is provided between the catch portion of said lock bolt and the slot face opposite to that from which said catch projects, and on the other hand an automatic lock-bolt release ramp is formed upstream of each notch of said hooking member.

According to a typical form of embodiment of this invention, the lock-bolt is so disposed that its longitudinal axis corresponding to its direction of travel is parallel to the axis of the hinge or pivot pin interconnecting the two elements of the hair-slide.

This lock-bolt may advantageously consist of a plate in which an L-shaped notch is cut or otherwise formed to constitute the catch portion of said lockbolt and one of the stop means of said lock-bolt consists of an external extension thereof bent at right angles and engaged by a coil compression spring partially housed in a cavity 3-3 of FIG. 2, with the lock-bolt in its closed of said free end of the element concerned, the other stop means which limits the stroke of the lock-bolt against the force of said spring consisting of a cross pin fitted into the end of said element so as to extend across said L-shaped notch and engage the, arm or portion the slot constituting the keeper engaged by said hooking member.

- DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING A clearer understanding of this invention may be had if reference is made to the accompanying drawing illustrating diagrammatically by wayof example a typical form of embodiment of the improved hair-slide of this invention. In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the .hair-slide in its closed position;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, the slide being slightly opened;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section taken along theline position, and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary section similar to FIG. 3 but showing the lock-bolt in its open position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT ries hair-retaining members 10 on its inner 'face. The

free ends of these elements 2 and 3 are provided with interconnecting means adapted releasably to lock the hair-slide in its closed position as illustrated in FIG. I.

As shown more in detail in FIGS. 2 to 4 these lock means comprise essentially on the one hand a hooking member 5 carried by the free end of element 2 and formed with at least one retaining notch 6, and on the other hand a lock-bolt 7 adapted to slide longitudinally and parallel to said pivot pin 4 in a cavity 8 provided to this end in the free end of the other element 3 of the hair-slide.

This lock-bolt 7 comprises a small plate in which an Lshaped notch 9 is cut or otherwise formed to provide a catch portion 1 l constituting the operative portion of lock-bolt 7 A pin 12 fitted into the free end of element 3 is adapted to constitute a stop means for limiting the permissible axial movement of lock-bolt 7 in the direction of the arrow 13. To this end, the pin 12 extends through the bolt 7 andmore particularly through the arm 9a of notch 9 which is parallel to the pivot pin 4, whereby when the lock-bolt 7 engages this pin 12 with the bottom of said arm 9a of notch 9, its inner lip or catch portion 11 projects into a slot 14 formed in the free end of element 3 to constitute a keeper forhooking member 5,'Of course, this lip or catch portion 11 projects into said slot 14 on the side registering with the retaining notch 6 of hooking member 5 when thehairslide is closed, so that the latter is kept in its closed position as a consequence of the engagement of said catch 1 1 on notch 6.

Another stop means limiting the movement of lockbolt 7 in the direction of the arrow 15, that is, in the direction opposite to that shown by the arrow 13, consists of a bent front extension 7a of lock-bolt 7. This lock-bolt 7 is normally urged to its'closed position, i.e., with its catch portion 11 projecting into slot 14, as illustrated in FIG. 3, by a coil compression spring 16 somewhat prestressed between the inner face of extension 7a and the bottom of its cavity 17 formed in the free end of element 3. When the hair-slide is closed, i.e., when the hooking member Sis retained in slot 14 by the catch portion 11 of lock-bolt 7, as illustrated in dash and dot lines in FIG. 2, the hair-slide is opened by releasing said hooking member 5, i.e., by simply depressing the bent outer extension 7a of lock-bolt7 so as to move the latter in the direction of the arrow 15, as illustrated in FIG. 4; in this position the catch portion 11 of lock-bolt 7 is retracted completely from slot 14 and thus the hooking member 5 can easily be withdrawn therefrom.

As shown notably in FIGS. 2 and 3, to permit the easy closing and locking of the hair-slide without actuating the lock-bolt 7, on the one hand, the hooking member 5 comprises upstream of notch 6a cam face 6a adapted to push back the catch 11 of lock-bolt 7, and on the other hand the position of pin 12 is such that when lock-bolt 7 is closed a clearance J is left between said catch 11 and the wall of slot 14 opposite to that from which said catch 11 projects, so as to permit a partial engagement of hooking member 5.

Of course, this invention should not be construed as being strictly' limited by the single form of embodiment shown and described herein by way of example, since many modifications and variations may be brought thereto without departing from the basic principles of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim as new is:

l. A hair-slide, notably of the so-called horse-tail type that cannot be lost, comprising two substantially arcuate elements hingedly interconnected: at one end and having their other or free ends provided with releasable interconnecting means so that in the closed position the hair-slide has a substantially elliptical configuration, each element carrying on its! inner face suitable hair-retaining members, this hair-slide further comprising as releasable interconnecting means at the free ends of its elements, on one element a hooking member carried by the free end of said elementand formed with at least one retaining notch, said hooking member being adapted, in the closed position of the hair-slide, to engage a slot formed in the free end of the other element and adapted to act as a keeper, and on the other element a lock-bolt slidably mounted between two stop means in a cavity provided to this end in the free end of the other element, whereby a catch portion of said lock-bolt can either project within said slot on the side of the notch or notches or be retracted therefrom, spring means normally urging said lock-bolt in the first position, other means permitting of moving said lock-bolt to its other end position.

2. A hair-slide that cannot be lost and as setforth in claim 1, wherein on the one element, when the lockbolt is in its operative position, that is, with its catch portion projecting into said slot, a clearance corresponding to substantially one-half of the width of said slot remains between said catch portion and the slot face opposite to that from which said catch pro ects,

provided upstream of each notch of said hooking member.

3. Hair-slide as set forth in claim 2, wherein said lock-bolt is so disposed that its longitudinal axis along which it is movable is parallel to the pin interconnecting said elements.

4. Hair-slide as set forth in claim 3, wherein said lock-bolt comprises a small plate in which an L-shaped notch is cut for forming said catch portion, one of said lock-bolt stop means comprising an external portion of said plate, which is bent at right angles and engaged by a coil compression spring partially housed in a cavity formed in the end of the relevant element, the other stop means for limiting the stroke of said lock-bolt against the force of said spring consisting of a pin fitted through the end of said relevant element so as to extend through the L-shaped notch of said lock-bolt and more particularly across the arm of said notch which is parallel to the direction of the sliding movement of said lock-bolt, whereby under the return force of said spring, the bottom of said notch arm engages said pin and the catch portion of said lock-bolt projects partially into said slot acting as a keeper for said hooking member. 

1. A hair-slide, notably of the so-called ''''horse-tail'''' type that cannot be lost, comprising two substantially arcuate elements hingedly interconnected at one end and having their other or free ends provided with releasable interconnecting means so that in the closed position the hair-slide has a substantially elliptical configuration, each element carrying on its inner face suitable hair-retaining members, this hair-slide further comprising as releasable interconnecting means at the free ends of its elements, on one element a hooking member carried by the free end of said element and formed with at least one retaining notch, said hooking member being adapted, in the closed position of the hair-slide, to engage a slot formed in the free end of the other element and adapted to act as a keeper, and on the other element a lock-bolt slidably mounted between two stop means in a cavity provided to this end in the free end of the other element, whereby a catch portion of said lock-bolt can either project within said slot on the side of the notch or notches or be retracted therefrom, spring means normally urging said lock-bolt in the first position, other means permitting of moving said lock-bolt to its other end position.
 2. A hair-slide that cannot be lost and as set forth in claim 1, wherein on the one element, when the lock-bolt is in its operative position, that is, with its catch portion projecting into said slot, a clearance corresponding to substantially one-half of the width of said slot remains between said catch portion and the slot face opposite to that from which said catch projects, and on the other element a cam face for automatically pushing said lock-bolt out of its operative position is provided upstream of each notch of said hooking member.
 3. Hair-slide as set forth in claim 2, wherein said lock-bolt is so disposed that its longitudinal axis along which it is movable is parallel to the pin interconnecting said elements.
 4. Hair-slide as set forth in claim 3, wherein said lock-bolt comprises a small plate in which an L-shaped notch is cut for forming said catch portion, one of said lock-bolt stop means comprisIng an external portion of said plate, which is bent at right angles and engaged by a coil compression spring partially housed in a cavity formed in the end of the relevant element, the other stop means for limiting the stroke of said lock-bolt against the force of said spring consisting of a pin fitted through the end of said relevant element so as to extend through the L-shaped notch of said lock-bolt and more particularly across the arm of said notch which is parallel to the direction of the sliding movement of said lock-bolt, whereby under the return force of said spring, the bottom of said notch arm engages said pin and the catch portion of said lock-bolt projects partially into said slot acting as a keeper for said hooking member. 